We witnessed several big-figure funding deals for African Startups last week. Complete Farmer had the biggest funding round of the bunch, raising $10. 4 Million in a mix of debt and equity financing. Lupiya was close behind, raising $8.25 Million in Series A equity. The least funding rounds featured Fixit45, which raised $1.9 Million, followed by $2.5 Million by PremierCredit.
Funding
Untapped Global
Funding round: Seed ($3 Million)
Investors: E3 Capital.
Founded: 2021, Kenya
Founders: Jim Chu
Products: Untapped Global operates a smart asset financing platform which leverages data to identify low-risk investment opportunities in emerging markets and connect them to interested investors.
What Next?: Fuelled by the funding, Untapped Global aims to accelerate the adoption of climate-smart solutions such as e-mobility across Africa. To achieve this, the company will invest the acquired fund into scaling its data platform and expanding its portfolio of climate-smart assets.
Complete Farmer
Funding round: Pre-Series A, Debt and Equity ($10.4 Million)
Investors: Acumen Resilient Agriculture Fund (ARAF), Alitheia Capital, Proparco, Newton Partners, VestedWorld Rising Star Fund, SEFAA, Alpha Mundi Group’s Alpha Jiri Investment Fund and Global Social Impact Investments
Founded: 2017, Ghana
Founders: Desmond Koney, Andrew Quartey
Products: Complete Farmer operates a digital end-to-end agricultural marketplace connecting African producers to consumers and industries globally. The company operates two primary solutions, CF Grower and CF Buyer, targeted at improving productivity for farmers and agricultural produce buyers in Africa.
What Next?: Complete Farmer aims to invest the newly acquired funds into scaling its existing products, forging strategic partnerships with key stakeholders, bolstering its team and expanding operations to other parts of Africa.
Anka
Funding round: Pre-Series A, Debt and Equity ($5 Million)
Investors: International Finance Corporation (IFC), Proparco, Bpifrance
Founded: 2016, Ivory Coast
Founders: Moulaye Taboure, Abdoul Kadry Diallo, Luc B. Perussault Diallo
Products: Anka operates a SaaS e-commerce platform which serves as a one-stop-shop for businesses engaged in online retailing and goods delivery for buyers locally and internationally.
What Next?: ANKA will invest the funds into strengthening its product development and expanding its services in key markets across Nigeria, Kenya and the U.S.
Fixit45
Funding round: Pre-Seed ($1.9 Million)
Investors: Launch Africa Ventures, Soumobroto Ganguly, David DeLucia
Founded: 2021, Nigeria
Founders: Justus Obaoye, Abdulazeez Ogunjobi, Pankaj Bohhra
Products: Fixit24 operates an aftermarket automotive platform where car owners can connect and interact with a network of automobile service providers, technical teams and spare-parts suppliers
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What Next?: With the Funding, Fixit is set to expand its services to other regions in Africa while enhancing access to quality repairs and spare parts for corporates and individual clients.
Lupiya
Funding round: Series A ($8.25 Million)
Investors: Alitheia IDF Fund, INOKS Capital SA, KfW DEG
Founded: 2016, Zambia
Founders: Evelyn Chilomo Kaingu, Muchu Kaingu
Products: Lupiya provides innovative fintech solutions to the unbanked and underbanked populations in Zambia. Its offerings include various types of loans and online lending services.
What Next?: The acquired funding will go into enhancing Lupiya’s technological infrastructure, expanding its financial products, and scaling its operations to reach more customers.
PremierCredit
Funding round: Series A ($2.5 Million)
Investors: Trade Access Sub-Fund
Founded: 2019, Zambia
Founders: Chilufya Mutale, Eugene Mwila
Products: PremierCredit operates an online microlending and investment platform designed to increase access to financial services for unbanked and underbanked populations in Africa. This includes urban and rural micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs).
What Next?: Fuelled by the funding, PremierCredit is set to revolutionize access to financial services in Zambia and Zimbabwe by rolling out solutions intended to promote financial inclusion in underserved areas.
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Acquisitions
Turaco Acquires MicroEnsure Ghana
Turaco, a Kenyan Insurtech company, has announced the acquisition of microinsurance company MicroEnsure Ghana as it continues its expansion into West Africa. The merger will see MicroEnsure rebranded as Turaco Ghana.
Turaco leverages technology to offer insurance services to customers. Through the acquisition, Turaco will tap into MicroEnsure’s existing customer base in Ghana while building its platform to expand into other parts of Africa.
Opportunities
THRIVE X Global Accelerator Program 2024 for Early to Growth Stage Startups
